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The figures are a relief to Home Secretary Theresa May and the Prime Minister, who have promised to reduce net immigration to below 100,000. Immigration Minister Mark Harper said: ‘This is a significant fall in net migration and the total number of visas issued is at its lowest since 2005.

‘This shows we are bringing immigration back under control. Our tough policies are taking effect and this marks a significant step towards bringing net migration down from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands by the end of this Parliament.

‘At the same time, we continue to attract the brightest and best: these figures show that there has been a small increase in the number of sponsored student visa applications for the university sector – and a further increase in student visit visas. It’s clear that international students continue to come to the UK’s world renowned universities.’

Graph shows annual long-term migration estimates for the UK between 1991 and 2011

Graph shows changes in immigration from the five most common countries into the UK over the past five years

Tory Party chairman Grant Shapps added: ‘Conservatives in Government are committed to getting immigration under control.

‘This big fall in net migration shows that the tough steps we have taken to reduce the uncontrolled immigration that Labour presided over are working.’

The results won approval from Migrationwatch, the think-tank which has led criticism of high immigration. Its chairman, Sir Andrew Green, said: ‘At last we can see some light at the end of the tunnel. We can now see the first effects of the Government’s measures to reduce immigration. There is a distance to go but they are on the right track.’

But Sarah Mulley, of the left-leaning Institute of Public Policy Research, said: ‘This fall in net migration has been driven by a significant fall in the number of foreign students coming to the UK.

Clampdown: The drop was driven by an eight per cent fall in the number
of people coming to the UK to study, with 213,000 students arriving this year
compared to 232,000 last year

‘Steps to reduce abuse of the student visa system are welcome, but if the Government’s net migration target is to be met, there also needs to be a dramatic fall in the numbers of genuine foreign students.This will come at a significant economic cost.’ Emigration from Britain helped drive down the net migration total. In the year to the end of March, 353,000 people left to live abroad, compared with 336,000 in the previous year.

Study was the main reason for immigration, but there was an 8 per cent drop in the number of those coming here for formal study, with 213,000 students arriving this year compared to a peak of 232,000 in the year to March 2011.

Yesterday it was revealed that more than 150,000 suspected bogus students from outside the EU have been allowed to stay here since 2009 despite border officials being warned they may have breached their visas.